Video

Today Lena becomes a teenager. The world around her is full of possibilities. But also risks. See what opportunities and risks Lena and other girls and young women are facing in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and how UNFPA is assisting the countries in the region to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled.

A country with both increasing numbers of young people and declining fertility has the potential to reap a ‘demographic dividend’ – a boost in economic productivity that occurs when there are growing numbers of people in the workforce relative to the number of dependents.

In Guatemala, it's legal for a girl to marry as young as 14 — though many are married far younger than that. The result: Many girls marry men far older than themselves and become mothers long before they are physically and emotionally ready. Communicating the individual experiences of these child brides across cultural and language barriers became my passion, and, ultimately, my life's work. This project in Guatemala was done in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund. The film below was co-directed by Katie Orlinsky.

Learn about female genital mutilation from the sisters Amina and Desta. UNFPA and UNICEF lead the Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting, the largest global programme to accelerate the abandonment of female genital mutilation.

Does the World Have Enough Midwives? February 23, 2015.The World Health Organization has been requested by member-states to prepare a global strategy on Human Resources for Health by 2016. In parallel, the UN Secretary General is requesting a revised update of the “every woman every child” strategy. These two processes offer an opportunity to ensure alignment on the health workforce requirements and the midwifery workforce requirements. This event was an opportunity to ensure the alignment of these two processes.

Around the world, over 280,000 women die every year from complications during pregnancy or childbirth. Six United Nations agencies have come together in a joint effort called H4+, to reduce child and maternal mortality rates and ensure that all mothers and children have access to the best possible care to enable them to live healthy, productive lives.

The H4+ partnership includes UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, WHO and the World Bank.

UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies & programmes to reduce poverty & ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV, & every girl & woman is treated with dignity and respect.